Amazon reveals launch date for ex-Top Gear team’s Grand Tour

Matt Alan

After months of teasing audiences, Amazon has finally announced the launch date for its Grand Tour show starring the former Top Gear presenting team.

The first episode of the highly-anticipated motoring show, fronted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, will be available on Amazon Prime Video from 18 November.

Following their exit from the BBC under a cloud the trio have been working on the new show for Amazon’s streaming service.

It will see a touring studio tent travelling to a different global location every week and a mix of in-studio segments and on-location films.

To mark the announcement, Amazon launched a video showing some of what audiences can expect.

As well as the “holy trinity” of hybrids - Porsche 918, Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1 - being thrashed round a track, the clip shows the team driving an Alfa Romeo 4C through the Game of Thrones set in Morocco plus the familiar shouting, flames and slow-motion wheelspins.

The first episode will see the series’ studio tent land in California and the team are also known to have visited South Africa and Yorkshire for the studio segments of the show.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos said that the show was “very, very, very expensive” but claimed that the expenditure - put at £4 million dollars by some estimates - will be worth it.

Jay Marine, vice president of Amazon Prime Video EU said: "Customers have been desperate to find out when they can watch their favourite team back on screen, so we are very excited to announce the launch date of one of the most globally anticipated shows of 2016.

"The guys have been having a blast filming the show around the world and we can't wait for fans to see it."

Unlike Netflix, where whole series are made available at once, Amazon will be adding one new episode of the Grand Tour every week.

The three presenters and former Top Gear producer Andy Wilman have signed up for a total of 12 episodes per year for the next three years.

Until the show airs fans can get a feel of what’s to come on the show’s website.